


Cody

by Revyra



Category: Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-05
Updated: 2018-06-05
Packaged: 2019-05-18 15:11:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 935
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14855144
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Revyra/pseuds/Revyra
Summary: cody hangs with one of his baby bros | part of the a-z challenge on my tumblr





	Cody

Cody hated coming to Kamino.

The longer the war dragged on and the more men he watched die, the more he despised the ocean planet and the all too clean facilities and the long necked Kaminoans with their datapads recording every little detail about every little thing about them. He kept his eyes focused dead ahead as he passed through the facility despite the fact that he had his helmet on, and knew they couldn’t tell where he was looking.

Call it a precaution, call it habit, keep your head down and do what you’re told and don’t ask questions and you won’t put yourself at risk for their attention and cold, heartless stares as they marked you down as a problem. He didn’t breathe until he stopped outside a darkened room that held rows upon rows of cradle like pods.

This was what he hated the most, he thought as he stepped into the room where the newborns were kept. For all the things the Kaminoans did to them, this was the part that broke his heart the most.

He was probably breaking some protocol, entering the nursery where a seemingly endless number of infants slept in varying degrees of silence, but he couldn’t bring himself to care as he pulled his helmet off and set it down quietly on the table by the door.

They were all so small, he thought, making his way down the rows. So fragile and young and peaceful, and yet in less than a decade they would be fully grown men with blasters in their hands marching to their deaths.

Further down one of the rows, a cry went up, almost as if the infant had heard Cody’s thoughts. Heart twisting, he made his way down the row until he was at the pod where the crying infant was. It screamed, kicking and red faced, tears rolling down its face.

Expression drawn, Cody reached one hand into the pod, brushing a finger against the infant’s chubby cheek. The wailing subsided and the baby opened its eyes, staring up at Cody with watery golden eyes before it made a happy sound, and grabbed at his finger with a tiny, uncoordinated hand.

A faint smile crept onto Cody’s face as the tiny hand just barely wrapped halfway around his finger. It was a small wonder, how little the baby was. He couldn’t quite believe it, let alone believe that he had ever been so small. Gurgling laughter escaped the infant as it kicked its feet, reaching for Cody with its free hand.

With bated breath, Cody carefully pulled his finger from the baby’s grasp, then reached into the pod and gently picked it up, shifting slightly to cradle it in his arms. He made sure to keep the blanket between the baby and his armor to cushion it. The baby seemed delighted, a wide, toothless smile on its face, and its hands balled in tiny fists that jerked sporadically.

After brushing the reminiscent tears from the baby’s cheeks, Cody slowly rocked the baby in his arms, humming quietly. The baby continued to laugh, grabbing at his face and hand. Affection warmed him as he let the baby take his hand. A quiet chuckle left him at the sight of the endless fascination that lit the baby’s face. At least, until the baby tried to stick his fingers in its mouth.

“Ah- no, sorry kid, can’t let you do that,” he murmured, curling his fingers just out of reach. “Can’t tell you where these have been. Don’t want you getting sick.” The baby made a sound of protest that was quickly interrupted by a wide yawn. Cody’s gaze softened as he watched the baby’s eyelids begin to drop and its motions begin to slow. Before he knew it, the baby was asleep.

Cody watched it for a moment, continuing to sway as it slept peacefully, blissfully unaware of what the future held for it. Uselessly, he knew, he prayed that it might stay that way. That this child and every other one in the room would never face combat. That he could win the war so that they would never know everything he did.

Brow creasing in a tiny frown, he lifted the baby up slightly to press a gentle kiss to its forehead. For protection. For luck. For peace. He held onto the baby for a few moments longer, unable and unwilling to give it back to Kamino, and then his comlink beeped, signaling that it was time to leave. With a heavy heart, Cody gently placed the baby back in its pod, thankful that it didn’t wake upon leaving his arms.

Careful to avoid looking at its identifying number, he made his way out of the darkened room briskly, almost desperately, grabbing his helmet and shoving it on as he left. It was better if he never knew what happened to the baby. It was easier to depart with the last memory being one of an infant sleeping soundly in the only safety it or any other clone would ever know.

That was what he preferred to remember, and so that was what he kept in his heart as he left the planet. A moment of peace and family and comfort. A moment where someone came to comfort them when they cried instead of having to learn to hide their tears behind their helmets because nobody cared.

He continued to pray that the war would end before those children had blasters put in their hands and the horrors of war put in their minds.

Cody hated coming to Kamino.


End file.
